Prepare For Old Age Early

“When I went through that I was convinced I could change the world,” Rabidoux, 60, said.

Now, as president and CEO of EHM Senior Solutions, she is part of a grow-ing industry that is wrestling with how to provide care for adults who seek to remain independent with-out burdening their children, and who are living longer than previous generations.

What’s more, organizations such as EHM — which changed its named from Evangelical Homes of Michigan — will also have to contend with aging baby boomers, the large generation born after World War II, who by many accounts have been reluctant to plan for old age.

To prepare, the nonprofit has broadened, deepened and added to its services. In addition to homes, it now also offers services, including technology to help monitor adults, that elderly people can get to help them while still living in their own homes.

In August, EHM announced it acquired the former St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center in Farmington Hills from St. John Providence Hospital and would be devel-oping the 31 acres to open a new senior living center that offers day programs, as well as independent and assisted living by 2020.

The Farmington-based company employs more than 1,200 people, serves about 5,500 adults in a nine county area in Michigan and has an annual operating budget of about $60 million. It also has offices in Ann Arbor and Monroe.

In an edited conversation, Rabidoux talks about her company’s acquisitions, what folks should expect as more baby boomers retire, and she offered advice on caring for the elderly. …